Shadow of the Past
by CC Novak
Summary: When things go wrong, you never who will show up to help you. Even shadows from the past leave their marks on your skin forever and they never seem to go away.


**Ok, so I couldn't bring myself to finish any of my other stories, shockingly this is actually one I started probably back in February, and it has just been gnawing at me forever. And seeing as the series ended in 1999...this is probably 2006. Yay for being in the modern era!

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**Prologue: The Grab**

Seven year old Aiden Brightmore rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited outside the private school she attended in Los Angeles. Her ashy blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that had been tied back by a light blue ribbon that twinned with the color of her eyes. For being seven, she was all ready fairly tall and skinny, both things she had gotten from her mother. From her father she had gotten a quick wit but also a sense of compassion for people, her mother had it as well, just not when she was competing with others. She was dressed in denim shorts and sporting a New York Yankees t-shirt that she'd gotten as a birthday present the week before. She was a Halloween baby, but thankfully, it was hot in LA year round so short sleeves and shorts were normally what people were wearing most of the time.

_Where is mommy?_ She thought to herself as she watched as her friends got into the cars with their parents or other relatives, but she was standing there still. Her mother had told her something that morning before she left, but she couldn't remember what it was, why hadn't she paid attention to her? She had seriously thought about going back inside because it was hot and muggy, but she'd give her another minute or two before going back to sit in the office and wait.

As she turned to walk inside, she heard someone call her name. She twirled around to see that a man with a friendly face was standing behind her. He was in a police officer's uniform and he was much much taller than she was, probably even taller than her uncle Maxwell, who was freakishly tall, but so was everyone else to her

"Hello there Aiden." He said as he squatted down in front of her.

"Hello." She said timidly. Something she didn't inherit from either of her parents was her shyness.

"How are you today. You look really pretty." He smiled.

"Good, who are you?" She asked shyly.

"I'm officer Kendrick, I work at the station with your mommy." He replied. "She told me to come and get you because she didn't want anything to happen to you." He said as he put a strand of hair that had blown free behind her ear.

"Can we call her?" She asked as she fidgeted.

"Sure! You can use my cell phone, but I left it in my car. Come with me and I'll let you call her." He said. He held out his hand for her and she took it cautiously. He walked her to a cruiser and he slipped into the driver's seat and began to search around for his phone, he finally found it, but he held it out for her to get it, meaning she would have to get in the car. "Come on Aiden, you can trust me." He said through the downed window.

She nodded slowly and opened the door. He held it back a little ways and when she was fully in, she got the phone in her hand, but it wasn't for long.

"Get her!" She heard officer Kendrick yell. She went to get out of the car, but someone grabbed her hair from behind, Kendrick. When she went to scream, someone popped up from behind the seat and slammed their hand over her mouth. It was another man and with a hard tug, Kendrick pulled her back into the car and the other man, with his free hand, slammed the door, barely missing her legs, which she had tucked in just in time for her knees to be resting on the window.

"Now listen to me girl, if you want to live and see your mommy and daddy again, you do everything we say, do you understand me?" Kendrick demanded.

She nodded her head quickly and she began to cry. She looked up and saw that the man who had his hand over her mouth was mean looking, like he had done hard time in jail, which she probably guessed he had. She shook as she cried, but that didn't matter to them, they'd gotten what they'd came for, and they were going to use that to their advantage.

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C.C. Brightmore pulled up to the school twenty minutes after three. She hated the fact that that damn meeting had lasted longer than she'd planned. As she rooted around in the backseat for her purse, she looked around and saw a man and woman dressed in metro police division uniforms were talking to a teacher, Aiden's math teacher. She had her hand covering her mouth and she must have been crying. She shook her head, she didn't want to get involved with what was going on, it was none of her business.

When she got her purse, she got out of the driver's seat and walked up to the school entrance. As she walked in, she saw a cop was down on his knees talking to a little girl, she knew her name, it was Bella something or another. She had come over to their house a few times, but she'd never remembered her last name. She got a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach, something was definitely not right.

She rushed to the principal's office and when she got into the office, she saw him standing there, but the room was filled with more cops. They all looked up at her with solemn looks, she looked back at the secretary who was at her desk and she had the same look.

"Mrs. Brightmore, please come in." The principal said as he walked over to her and put a hand on her back. She walked in and they shut the door.

In all her years as a secretary, Marla Paredes had never had to deal with anything like this. From her desk, she could hear them telling the mother of one of the sweetest children she had ever met, was gone. When she heard the word 'kidnapped' there was a loud scream, and she knew then that Mrs. Brightmore knew. She bowed her head, closed her eyes and began to pray in her native Spanish tongue for Him to keep little Aiden safe and to be with her family, who she knew they'd need Him now more than ever.

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**So if any of you have seen the episode of Hunter entitled "The Grab" you'll see where this idea came from. But y'all know me and my surprises. .!**


End file.
